A measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s southeast has killed 428 people and infected about 30,000 since the start of the year, the United Nations said on Friday.
More than 100 deaths and 10,000 additional cases have been recorded since mid-August, when the United Nations committed $2.4 million to fight the outbreak in the former province of Katanga.
Humanitarian groups said the money was not enough and poor roads and health services in the region were hindering vaccination drives.
Yvon Edoumou, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told Reuters that they had somewhat contained the disease in the short term and was sad that the disease was still progressing.
The outbreak is the country’s worst since 2010-11, when 1,085 people died and about 77,000 were infected in Katanga.
According to the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres mortality rates can be as high as 20% in poor countries despite the fact that it will only cost $1 to vaccinate a child.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that can lead to deadly complications like diarrhoea, dehydration, respiratory infection and encephalitis.
